BRELIM CHARITY UGANDA - EAST AFRICA

BRELIM CHARITY UGANDA - EAST AFRICA

Adding Value to Life

HIV/AIDS PANDEMIC

HIV/AIDS is real and a killer.We need to extend our love in prayer and every possible support so as to restore hope and confidence to both the infected and affected persons.

The vast majority of young people do not know how HIV is transmitted or how to protect themselves from the infection. In India only 37 per cent of young people have ever heard of HIV or AIDS, only 33 per cent in Bangladesh (UNAIDS, 2002b). In Mozambique, 74 per cent of girls and 62 per cent of boys aged 15-19 are unaware of any way to protect themselves from HIV (UNAIDS, 2001). In Somalia only 28 per cent of girls have heard of AIDS and only one per cent know how to protect themselves (UNAIDS, 2002b). Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, where girls receive less education than boys, only half of teenage girls realize that a healthy-looking person can be living with HIV (UNAIDS, 2001).

Here in Uganda, although there was a dramatic decrease in the number of primary school going children who are sexually active – from 61% to 5% (boys), and from 25% to 3% (girls) between 1994 and 2001 (Ngatia et al. 2001), there is still an alarmingly high rate of of those aged 19 and below.[(52% are sexually active, and 28% are already married off.) Demographic and Healthy Surveys, 1998 – 2001]. So there is an urgent need to educate young people in particular about sex and HIV. They are having sex. Many are having sex from their early teens. They urgently need the knowledge and the skills to protect themselves from HIV and other STIs. We are not yet there. Complacency could spell disaster, and roll back the much-acclaimed strides Uganda has moved in the fight against this epidemic. We have to keep the foot onto the pedal, and, if anything, press much harder for a sustainable positive trend in this crusade.

Small and terribly under facilitated as BRELIM CHARITY may be, she has on many occasions stood up to be counted among the gallant combatants in this battle. We walk down to the people, deep in the remotest of villages, and teach the basics; what HIV/AIDS is, what it actually is not, ways and means of protection from infection, and how to treat and care for the victims without due discrimination.

In vicinities where there is electric current, we use a TV and a VCR and show movies about HIV/AIDS, NUTRITION, and SEXUALLY TRANSIMITED INFECTIONS. At times, when we deem it practicable, we mobilize a parish or an area close to that, using the local political leadership of the area in concert with BRELIM CHARITY’s own registered community based volunteers (SOCIAL CARE GROUPS). In BRELIM CHARITY’s jargon, we call this the ‘MASS APPROACH.’

We also use the ‘HOME-TO-HOME APPROACH’, where we reach out to those who cannot make it to the collecting centers for one reason or the other. This is where we also reach out to the chronically ill, analyse the vulnerability rate of the children and take appropriate corrective measures, commensurate with our capacity.

We administer off the Shelf medication, advise on when and where to visit professional medical care, and offer basic necessities like maize flour, beans, salt, soap, paraffin and sugar. We also provide condoms through this approach, as we realized that the cost of a 3 condom pack in the local shops is the equivalent of almost 2 or 3 meals in this part of the country.

ANOTHER AREA OF INTEREST:

We happened to extend our out-reaches to Northern Uganda Lira District in Particular where there has been people who have been displaced for the last 21 years because of political insurgency and they have lived in camps until of recent when they are resettling their former homes but it has been discovered for the many years they lived in camps HIV/AIDS has been rampantly spread amongst them in that by the time the resettling process came, it is mostly orphaned children left to go and have a resettlement. So the challenge is that they need a hand of help concerning shelter, food, clothing, medical care, education and the need for them to have the hope and light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which brings amendment to broken hearts, hurt emotions and bruised lives because from the time they had camps experience there was a lot of child abuse sexually and labour wise which crippled them

We happened to extend our out-reaches to Northern Uganda Lira District in Particular where there has been people who have been displaced for the last 21 years becauseof political insurgency and they have lived in camps until of recent when they are resettling their former homes but it has been discovered for the many years they lived in camps HIV/AIDS has been rampantly spread amongst them in that by the time the resettling process came, it is mostly orphaned children left to go and have a resettlement. So the challenge is that they need a hand of help concerning shelter, food, clothing, medical care, education and the need for them to have the hope and light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which brings amendment to broken hearts, hurt emotions and bruised lives because from the time they had camps experience there was a lot of child abuse sexually and labour wise which crippled them

Physically (in that they were raped, ears, lips and limbs cut off by the rebels)
Spiritually (witch craft was the only available form of spirituallity)
Emotionally (un wanted pregnancies from rebels, witnessing the brutal killing of loved ones, homes being burnt and frequent kidnaps) leaving the child hopeless and careless.

And amongst homes trying to resettle we happened to visit these ones and they have a lot to tell.

We need to go back another out reach with a massive approach on the following:

Preaching the Gospel so as to give hope and restore a sense of humanity and self worth
To hold counseling sessions as most of them were hurt emotionally
To take essential supplies like; food, clothing, medical supplies, clutches and wheel chairs etc
To help them set up shelters as simple as these for the meanwhile.
To take food supplies

However these are the challenges:

We need transportation for our staff
We need skilled volunteers in building, counseling and in the medical field
We need drugs
Clothes and beddings
Scholastics

And all these seem to be frustrated due to our financial limitations. So if there be anybody out there interested in this area, your support is welcome in person and in kind. We hope to see you there.

Some of the Northern Uganda Pictures include the ones below:

Brelim Charity supported widows to resettle in their home

Brelim Charity supported farm of lentiles owned by these widows

This kid in Northern Uganda needs support to attain education

A widow and her daughter pose outside their newly built hats

We happened to extend our out-reaches to Northern Uganda Lira District in Particular where there has been people who have been displaced for the last 21 years becauseof political insurgency and they have lived in camps until of recent when they are resettling their former homes but it has been discovered for the many years they lived in camps HIV/AIDS has been rampantly spread amongst them in that by the time the resettling process came, it is mostly orphaned children left to go and have a resettlement. So the challenge is that they need a hand of help concerning shelter, food, clothing, medical care, education and the need for them to have the hope and light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which brings amendment to broken hearts, hurt emotions and bruised lives because from the time they had camps experience there was a lot of child abuse sexually and labour wise which crippled them